All posts by rksmith

Play Ball!

General

Spring Training Baseball Game

Arizona and Florida are home to the major league baseball teams each spring as they prepare for the coming baseball campaign. Jaelene checked online and found that the Los Angeles Dodgers were coming to Phoenix to play the Chicago White Sox. Further, tickets in the bleachers were $10! We bought six tickets and spent this afternoon at the Phoenix Municipal Stadium partaking of the American Pastime. The day was absolutely perfect. Temperatures in the mid-80’s, cloudless skies, and a light breeze out of the southwest.

The Family at the Game

Jaelene, Colten, Jackson, Austin, Nina, and I walked from the far end of the parking lot to the stadium for the game, which was sold out. Our seats were at the far end on the first base side … as far as possible! We had a great view of the field and all the action. Jackson, however, had trouble keeping his shoes from under the bleachers and Jaelene had the opportunity to retrieve them three times. Colten brought his GameBoy and stayed well occupied. Austin loved jumping up and back down the stairs, until he fell down the front of the stadium seats and had to be retrieved. He was happier to stay closer to mom after that.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers whomped up on the White Sox, taking the game 8-2. The starting Dodger pitcher won the right to be the starting pitcher on opening day. I think for the first time ever, the regular baseball season starts in March this year. It’s almost time to Play Ball!

Goodbye Sixty-Two!

General

We’re having a great time in Chandler, Arizona. We arrived on Monday afternoon and haven’t stopped playing since. Yesterday was Nina’s birthday (for one day of the year we’re the same age). Colten, the Food Network fanatic, planned the dinner (creamy chicken on pastry shells) and made the fairly complicated seasoning rub for the chicken. The net result was that I ate way too much.

The agenda today included going to the movie theater to watch Horton Hears A Who. It was a funny, delightful movie and worth taking the kids. After that Austin, Jackson, Nina, and I went to a nearby park to fly the remote controlled airplane. After a couple of pretty good flights, I think I lost the airplane in a tree. I couldn’t find it up in the tree, but the plane never came out from behind the tree…. So that’s the end of the flying for this trip!

Colten also planned tonight’s meal and was working very hard on slicing potatoes for french fries when he knicked off a piece of his finger! He survived in great shape and is sporting a big bandage. No doctor or hospital visit required, fortunately. Scott arrived back from the San Francisco Bay area in time to grill the hot dogs and hamburgers. Another great meal where I again ate far too much. I’m definitely being well fed here in Arizona. It must be part of some big plot!

So, after dinner we had cake and ice cream and celebrated another birthday. I’ve now officially left my sixty-second year behind and have a good start on the sixty-third year. I’m also once again a whole year older than Nina. Despite that, life is good.

Meeting the Beau

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Stephanie and Beau

We drove down to North Salt Lake yesterday to visit a bit with our daughter and family as well as to meet Stephanie’s new British boyfriend Adam. They met on Facebook and their friendship grew such that Adam flew from Heathrow into Salt Lake City on Friday to spend Spring Break with Stephanie. We had a delightful visit. During dinner Adam had the chance to pronounce a number of words in his British accent … words like “utterly”, “disastrous”, and “aluminum” … to spice up the conversation. He’s a nice young man, further proof that granddaughter Stephanie continues to have Great Taste!

I must now start the gathering process. This afternoon we’ll go to Idaho Falls for a 6 p.m. temple session preceded by a 5:15 chapel meeting where I’ll be playing the organ. Tomorrow is Ward Conference for all three wards in the Portneuf building, so I’ll be speaking at 10:20 a..m., 12:20 p.m., and 2:20 p.m. After the last meeting ends at 3 p.m. we’re headed south into Utah to about Nephi or Filmore where we’ll spend the night. Monday we’ll drive the rest of the way to Jaelene’s where we’ll be for our Spring Break. So, this morning is the allotted time to gather up and pack for the trip. It’s time to get moving!

Sometime Life is Very Busy!

General

I’m at my daughter’s house in North Salt Lake today. My oldest granddaughter’s new beau flew in from England last night so we’re checking him out. Seems like a nice enough chap. We’ll stay through dinner and then drive back to Pocatello as we’ve got a busy day tomorrow and Sunday, including leaving after Church on Sunday to begin the drive to Chandler, Arizona to spend a week with our daughter and family there. I’ve started writing this blog entry without a title because I haven’t figured out what I should call it! By the time I get done, I’m sure something will pop out of the brain cells.

Mother had cataract surgery on her left eye on Wednesday late morning. She and dad drove over and for that, stayed the night on Wednesday night, and we took them back home on Thursday late afternoon. My assignment was to chauffeur dad wherever he needed to go while Nina did the same for mother. The surgery went well and dad got all of his shopping and browsing done as well. That included trips to Partner Steel (to get some aluminum plate), the audiologist (to get a new ear mold made for his hearing aid), Harbor Freight (a new half-inch drill), Lowes (three way light switches), Winco (caffeine-free Diet Coke), and the Bureau of Land Management (to get a map of the Preston area showing land ownership). All the shopping was successful and dad was happy with the results. Mother’s eyesight wasn’t quite back to normal so I drove their car, along with dad, back to Soda Springs and Nina drove our car with mother over to Soda Springs as well. That was a very quick trip because Nina needed to be up to the prison by 6:45 pm. We were home with time to spare.

Thursday morning I convened the third meeting of the Southeast Idaho Information Technology Professionals Organization. A group of the IT people in the area got together at Perkins Restaurant in Pocatello. We’re making some real progress on getting this organization setup and moving forward. It’s seems to be getting some legs. It’s been interesting to get to know some of the IT people from the City of Pocatello, Bannock County, Portneuf Medical Center, Idaho State University, and some of the other companies in town. We’ll meet again in early April. It’s been a busy week!

News From the (Mouse) War Front

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Nina feeds the birds. The birds feed the mice. Roland kills the mice. It’s a vicious circle.

bird feedersNina has four bird feeders attached to the railings on the back deck. Two have thistle seed and two have some kind of a standard mix. However, the birds are very selective about which seeds they eat and they toss about half the seeds overboard onto the deck or onto the ground below the deck.

A colony of mice have discovered the bounteous supply of seeds on the ground and on the deck. Over the winter a number of mouse holes have popped up through the snow just below the back deck. A week or so ago we noticed a few of the little critters venturing onto the deck to feast on the seeds that hadn’t been swept up. That was the final straw. Time get rid of the mice before they decide there’s a better feast inside the house!

I loaded six traps with peanut butter and put them out on the deck. So far: eight dead mice. I’m also putting a bunch of Decon down the mouse holes every day. I don’t know what the count from that exercise is, yet, but the little blue pellets keep disappearing.

A neighbor cat was coming into the yard earlier in the winter, but after the snow piled up along the fence the cat couldn’t get in anymore. I’m going to make a pathway for the cat. I’m sure that’s why the cat was showing such interest in our yard and we need Tabby to come back!

When the snow finally melts (still a lot of snow visible in the picture!) and the ground thaws sufficiently, then it’s time to start the fourth front on this war with the mice: the rototiller. We’ll churn up the ground below the deck and I think we’ll put down paving stones or something so we can sweep up the seeds the birds toss overboard and dispose of them in a way that’s less inviting to the mice. If I’ve killed off eight of them in the past four days, there’s got to be hundreds down there … breeding … eating seeds … pooping … peeing … just good fertilizer for the yard after I rototill them up!

I hope I don’t have to bring out the big guns … I wouldn’t want this war to have to escalate with no endgame in sight, kind of like what’s going on in some unnamed country who’s initials are ‘Iraq’….

It’s Been a Busy Weekend!

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Sometimes the weekends are much busier than the rest of the preceding week. This weekend is certainly an example of that. It started on Saturday morning when I took our car in at 8:30 a.m. to have the front windshield replaced. The shop, Dave’s Tint & Glass, did a great job and I was out of there by 9:30. An interesting part of my time there was when an elderly fellow pulled up in a beat-up old pickup truck and came into the shop. The owner and his partner apparently knew him and got out a coffee mug for him and poured him a cup of coffee (they have coffee and donuts delivered to the shop every morning, even though neither of the partners drink coffee … it’s for their customers). They chatted with him while they were working on my car. One of them went to the fridge and pulled out a plastic sack and gave it to him. Then they showed him the pile of cardboard in the corner and helped him load it in his pickup. After he left, the owner Dave told me that the guy comes around a couple of times a week looking for cardboard, aluminum, and their empty glue cartridges. They thought he might not have a lot to eat, so they bring in some leftovers to give him when he comes around. This place has my business and my hearty recommendation for life. It was a real upper start to my weekend!

Then followed Peter Norda‘s funeral. The viewing was at 10 a.m. followed by a service at 11 a.m. More than 800 people attended the funeral and the service was very fitting. It isn’t often that a Federal Judge on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals speaks at your funeral! After the service the Ward Relief Society provided dinner to the family and about 250 people were there for the meal. We got home after the cleanup about 4:30 p.m. plenty tired. But, for Nina, the day wasn’t over yet, as she still was going to the County Jail to visit an inmate.

While she was gone, I worked on my Priesthood lesson for the next day and worked through the hymns that we would be singing in Church as well as at choir practice as I was substituting for the normal organist and accompanist. After resetting most of the clocks, I was off to bed for a fairly short night.

Today was Church in the morning (playing the organ for Sacrament Meeting, teaching in Priesthood meeting, playing for the choir practice). Then we drove over to Soda Springs this afternoon to spend some time with my mother and dad. We had dinner with them and drove back to Pocatello … passing at least a couple hundred deer on the way. Driving through Lava Hot Springs we passed three wrecked cars and three dead deer in the middle of the highway. All three drivers were talking on their cell phones (to their insurance companies?) as we made our way slowly past. We saw large herds of deer on both sides of the road much of the rest of the way home.

We’re home for the evening. We’ve a busy week ahead as we get ready to drive to Chandler, Arizona next week for some time with our daughter, son-in-law, and their three boys. We’re way excited!

‘Til We Meet Again, Peter Norda!

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The news on Monday evening, February 18th was shocking: Peter Norda had been transported to the Neurological Intensive Care Unit at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls after a skiing accident. Peter had been working on the Pebble Creek Ski Patrol that afternoon. The snippets of news in the intervening days were occasionally good but mostly cause for concern. His wife Judy was at his side when he died yesterday afternoon.

Peter and I had only a couple of things, but important things, in common. He was a successful small business owner … I have worked for other people my entire career, up to now. He loved the outdoors, skiing in particular … I can count on the fingers of one hand how often I’ve actually been at a ski resort and no fingers are required to count how often I’ve been on skis. In spite of that we became good Church friends as he also loved the Gospel of Jesus Christ and was an active, involved member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He loved to teach, as I do. For a while I would teach on the 2nd Sunday and he would teach on the 3rd Sunday. Then he was called as an Assistant to the High Priest Group Leader and would teach on the first Sunday of the month, once a quarter. He told me on a couple of occasions that he really missed the opportunity to regularly teach the gospel. I knew I could always count on Peter to substitute when I was out of town on my assigned day to teach. We would talk about gospel topics, how best to present them, the opportunities for discussion, and how to get to desired outcomes. When he taught he was always well prepared and would lead a thoughtful, change-provoking discussion.

Peter, while I know you’ve gone on to other important things, I shall miss you. I’ll miss meeting with you about my home teaching. I’ll miss your lessons. I’ll miss your enthusiastic and welcoming handshake. I’ll miss your characteristic “Good morning, brethren!” when you conducted our priesthood group meetings. You’re now on my list of people to be sure to look up in heaven. ‘Til we meet again!

Chriss James: You’re Wrong!

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Corruption in our political system is minor compared to what I’ve witnessed in Bulgaria and the Philippines. It does exist, however. For example (Idaho State Journal, Saturday March 1, 1008):

Caribou County’s embattled prosecutor, Chriss James … pleaded no contest to the facts alleged by Attorney General Lawrence Wasden’s office — that he dismissed citations in exchange for cash totaling $3,800.

According to news reports (which are locked up behind a stupid pay wall at the Idaho State Journal newspaper), James (the Prosecutor for Caribou County in Soda Springs, Idaho) would meet with people cited for a misdemeanor traffic offense and allowed them to make a “contribution” in exchange for dismissing the charges. The “contribution”, he told them, would be used for the Caribou County Fair’s 5-kilometer run. After receiving the “contribution”, James then deposited the money in his personal bank account.

In a hearing last Friday, James attempted to get the 11 felony counts of misusing public funds dismissed. Thankfully, he was not successful. His reason? “Everyone is doing it, so it shouldn’t be illegal.”

Wrong, Mr. James. Everyone is NOT doing it. Besides, it is illegal.